Spilt Paint
by SunnyChocolate5
Summary: AU. When 12-year-old Garry Aomori visits an art gallery with his parents, things take a turn for the worst when he's literally pushed into what seems like a real life horror story. Good thing the pretty, calm and collected lady Ib is there with him. He'd probably go insane if it weren't for her. Younger!Garry. Older!Ib
1. Elusive Art Gallery

**Disclaimer: I do not own the game Ib or any of the characters in the story. All I own is the plot. *heart***

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**Spilt Paint**

_**Chapter I. Elusive Art Gallery**_

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"Oh wow... Even from the outside, it's quite beautiful, don't you think so honey?"

"Garry, do you still have the lighter I gave you?"

"Yeah, dad. It's in my pocket."

"Atta' boy!"

"Honestly, darling, giving our son a lighter for his twelfth birthday? He's a little too young to be playing with fire, don't you think?"

"Ah, he'll be fine! You know he's a responsible boy."

"Well, yes...but still..."

"It's okay, mom. I won't use it for anything bad."

"Oh...that sign says that lighters aren't allowed."

"The car's too far away. Just keep it safely hidden in your pocket okay, Garry?"

Garry only nodded at his father in response, gripping the lighter tightly in the hand that was shoved into his pocket. Looking up at the crisp white building, he let out a small exhale and smiled widely in excitement.

That's right. Today was his 12th birthday. His dad gave him a lighter, knowing how he loved fire. Its gentle glow and soft dance fascinated Garry. It was like a piece of art, and they just knew how much Garry loved art. Which is what brought them here today. The Guertena Art Gallery was like no other, beautiful art work and sculptures made by the late Weiss Guertena were strung up everywhere. It was a new exhibition that opened the month before and everyone was always talking about the marvelous art work and Garry had wanted to see it for weeks. He was practically bouncing on his seat in the car, just as he was now.

He bounded straight in when his father opened the door, only stopping when his mother called his name. She gently grabbed his shoulder. "Garry, sweetie, are you going by yourself?"

Garry nodded and smiled up at her.

"Well...okay. Come find us if you need anything, okay? I heard this place wasn't too big anyways."

"I will!" He grinned and bounded off once more.

"And don't run!"

He slowed down and finally settle into a walk, going up ahead into a hallway, ignoring the staircase for the time being. Immediately his eyes settled in the biggest painting he had ever seen. His eyes widened and he ran up to the rope, grabbing it gently. "Wow..." He couldn't help but let out, taking a long look at the blue painting with the giant fish in it. He tilted his head and glanced at the name.

"Abyss of the Deep." He read out loud to himself. He nodded, looking back down. He felt like he was going to sink if he looked at it any longer, so he finally turned and kept walking. Looking around, he saw a big rose sculpture and crept closer to his, glancing at it curiously. It was beautiful and saw that some petals were on the ground. He briefly glanced at the woman standing next to him, looking at the sculpture with a deep fascination and gentle gaze, quiet as can be. Looking back, he saw a painting of a coughing man. Sighing happily, he walked around the museum, glancing at the beautiful art works, deciding that he definitely wanted to paint like this someday.

Passing by the painting on the ground, he slowly walked past his parents who were glancing at a painting right behind it. His mother noticed him and glanced back. Smiling, she said, "Garry, honey, if you have to use the toilet, just go, okay?"

Blushing, Garry mumbled out, embarrassed. "Mum..."

She let out a small giggle. "I'm just saying, dear. No need to ask me."

Letting out a small eye roll he nodded and walked off once more, this time turning to go up the stairs. He looked around and smiled to himself, he walked to a painting of a hanging man and stared for a bit. He really liked it. He wasn't sure why. He tilted his head and looked at the man's face. He looked to be in pain.

Shrugging, he looked at some headless mannequins nearby and grimaced. They looked creepy.

...N-Not that he was scared or anything. They just...gave him an unsettling feeling for some reason. He wrinkled his nose and walked the other way.

Making his way around the beautiful art work, he looked up at a kitten painting and blinked slowly. Those eyes were staring directly into his soul, he just knew it. Giggling a bit at the thought, he kept walking down the hall and his eyes widened as he saw the biggest painting in the gallery.

It was a little warped and weird, but beautiful in a creepy, mysterious way. Like a whole other world. Looking down at the name, he read it out loud. "...Fabricated World." He smiled at the title, thinking it suited it very well. He jumped when the lights began to flicker on and off and shuddered a bit, suddenly feeling cold, despite the torn jacket he was wearing. He bit his lip, a spine tingling sensation running down his back.

_Why was everything so quiet all of a sudden?_

He felt sudden anxiety slowly filling his senses as he swallowed and gulped down air. He began to walk around the gallery once more, blinking.

_Where was everyone?_

Garry suddenly felt very sick to his stomach. This couldn't possibly be any good, right?

He hesitantly called out to his mom. "M-Mum? Where are you...?"

When the only answered he received was absolute silence, he swallowed air and bit his lip.

And when the lights turned off, he let out a small shriek.

"_Ohgodohgodohgod_-"

He turned back and started running as fast as his limbs could take him. He ran past the Fabricated World painting and would have kept going, had it not been for the blue paint leaking out of the painting. His eyes strayed to the paint and he froze, inspecting it closely.

**C O M E**

He squeaked and looked at the red letters on the floor. "W-What...?" Looking back at the paint, he saw a message was now written.

**Come down below, Garry. We'll show you someplace secret.**

Garry looked at the message confused.

He licked his lips and held onto the lighter, its metal giving him a strange feeling of reassurance.

This wasn't average kind of loneliness.

Something was wrong. Very, _very_ wrong. Walking around the empty gallery, Garry thought about the message of the blue paint. Beginning his trek down the creaking stairs (and wincing whenever they did creak), Garry began to panic when something banged on the window and he looked back, seeing a hand print on it. Freaking out, he ran down the stairs quickly and panicked even more when he heard footsteps. _Oh god, oh no, oh god, oh no_. His legs took him to the Abyss of the Deep and he blinked, seeing blue footsteps on the ground and the rope open. "W-What...?"

Garry neared the painting slowly and sat near it, looking inside curiously, his mind blocking out the sound of the footsteps entirely.

He tried touching it, only to see his hand go into the painting, like dipping into water. His eyes widened and he pulled his hand back, surprised to see it completely dry when he did. He didn't understand what was going on. He was only _twelve_, he shouldn't have to deal with such scary things!

N-Not...that he was scared or anything.

Oh, who was he kidding? He was _terrified. _

His hands shook and he clung his torn jacket closer to him, ignoring the creeping sensation up his spine.

The footsteps had stopped and Garry had somewhat relaxed.

Next thing he knew, hands were on his back and he was shoved forward, falling face-first into the painting.

And suddenly, the tiny lavender-haired boy was drowning.

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**A/N: WOW. This game has affected me in such a huge way. I passed it like a month ago and Im still hooked to all of it xD Well, let's see...what to say...**

**Well, I guess, I've never seen this plot yet, despite all the art work there is for it, haha...I wanted to try my hand at this Younger!Garry and Older!Ib thing xDD I've got soooo many headcanons for this AU, hah... Might tell you guys some in the next chappie if you want ^^  
**

**Hope this one was good! :'D R&R, Constructive Criticism is accpeted!**

**-Sunny**


	2. Fabricated World

**Disclaimer: I do not own the game Ib or any of the characters in the story. All I own is the AU. Cuz I technically don't own the plot. *heart***

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**Spilt Paint**

_**Chapter II. Fabricated World**_

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His head was pounding and he felt like he couldn't breath for just a few seconds. Before he knew it, he was right above some stairs and then he finally felt solid ground beneath his feet, he glanced back. The pool wasn't there anymore. There was a wall where it should have been. Garry shuddered a bit at the sudden cold shiver he felt running up his back. Rubbing his arms for comfort, he grimaced. Looking back, he saw nothing and sighed in realization._ I have to keep going to get out of here, don't I?_ With that depressing thought in mind, he walked forward, ignoring the anxiety he felt. Each step felt even worse than the last and his anxiety grew worse. He missed his mom.

When he reached the final step, he blinked._ What? I'm back in the gallery. This doesn't make sense..._ Looking back, he found more wall once more.

As odd as it was, Garry did notice the differences held in this gallery. The walls were completely black and lines with red edges and in front of the reception desk, there were stairs that he knew weren't there before. He was scared, but ventured forth, knowing this place was not the real gallery. Venturing down more stairs, the only thing he could hear where his own footsteps, which made it even more creepy. His hands were shaking and all he wanted was to be back home, reading his art books and watching television._ This has to be a dream_, he thought. _I just have to keep going until I wake up._

Finally reaching the bottom, he took a quick glance at his surroundings and grimaced. He had no idea where he was. He walked towards the door, but looked back at the tent behind him. Weird. That was one of the art pieces here? Shrugging, he opened the door and stepped out cautiously. Sensing no danger, he stepped out fully and examined his surroundings. His eyes caught something blue and he turned towards it. There, on a small table, was a vase. Inside the vase, was a beautiful blue rose. His eyes widened and he walked towards it. It was lovely. Garry had never even seen a blue rose before. Do they even exist? Licking his lips, he plucked the rose from the vase. He felt it was important, though he was unsure why. Studying it, he noticed it had 8 petals. He looked up at the wall and saw two signs next to the vase.

**_You and the rose are unified. Know the weight of your own life._**

_What?_

**_When the rose rots, so, too, will you rot away._**

_Well, that's unsettling._

Stepping away, he looked to the side and noticed a door. He looked back and looked at a corridor. Sighing, he decided that looking into the corridor was probably his best option at the moment, lest there be be something important there. Walking towards it, all he found was a dead end...and a painting. He frowned. That was an odd place to put a painting. Not many people would notice it.

If people even _came_ down here, wherever _here_ was.

He studied it for a moment and froze when he felt it's eyes had blinked. The painting suddenly gave him a wicked grin and Garry's eyes widened in horror. The painting smashed it's hands against the glass of it's frame and fell on the floor. One hand popped out and the painting, The Lady in Blue, was suddenly looking crawling over to him. Terrified, he quickly turned back and ran. Knocking the vase over, he crawled onto the table where he found the rose. The Lady in Blue then proceeded to shake the table, making him stumble and almost fall. Instead, Garry jumped over her and grabbed for the door where he had come from, opening it and quickly going into the room. To no avail, the Lady ripped the door open before he could completely close it and Garry was on a stool, grabbing a suspicious looking key from it first, and his rose had fallen, but Garry paid it no mind. The Lady then placed her attention on the rose and grabbed it. Garry used that to buy time and ran out the room, closing the door behind him and locking it behind him with the key, sighing happily when it fit and locked the door. He heard nothing and sighed in relief. Quickly running out the room, he faced another hallway.

_Eternal Blessing._

It was a painting of the vase that was under it. That couldn't possibly be dangerous, right? Just in case, he quickly ran past it and went into another room. Garry gasped at the sudden pain on his chest. He clutched at his chest and whimpered. It really hurt. He looked at a mannequin that was in front of a door. Trembling, he walked towards it and stared._ P-Please... don't chase me, please..._

When it did nothing, the small boy sighed in relief. Looking at the door, he cautiously stepped over to the mannequin and tried to push it out of the way. It was heavy and cold. Pushing with all his might, the twelve year old huffed and pulled away. It only moved a little.

Another shot of pain went through his body and he cried out, the key he had almost falling from his grasp.

_Why does it hurt?_

He turned back and slowly walked down the hall._ It hurts..._

Another shot of pain. He whimpered._ It hurts so much._

Tears welled in his eyes and he let out a small sniffle. He quickly rubbed at his eyes. Now was not the time to cry or be afraid. He had to-

Another shot of pain made him fall to the floor on his knees. Pressing his forehead on the floor, Garry tired to stay awake. His vision was blurring and the pain increased. He thought he heard a door opening but figured it was just his imagination. He thought he heard a gentle voice calling out, but told himself it was the allusion of his mom. The key was no longer in his hand and Garry was in so much pain, he barley registered it.

He had only just turned twelve.

Why was this happening to him?

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**A/N: Well, that's it for chapter 2. Next chapter, we meet Ib! :D Exciting, isn't it?! Yes, yes. Well. Older Ib is something I haven't thought of too much, but Im going to start to have to, huh? Heh... It was a bit hard to write this chapter, but I made it through. Im having so much fun writing this, you guys. Too much, if you ask me.**

**Isn't Garry just adorable, though? xD**

**Dear Chocolate Anon: Thank you so much for your review :'D It made me so happy.**

**Please review and let me know what you thought of this chapter :D**

**-Sunny**


	3. Red Rose

**Disclaimer: I do not own the game Ib or any of the characters in the story. All I own is the AU. Cuz I technically don't own the plot. *heart***

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**Spilt Paint**

_**Chapter III. Red Rose**_

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His eyes slowly blinked open and he realized the pain was gone.

He stayed quiet for a few minutes, laying on the floor as if lifeless, mulling over, struggling to remember what had transpired in the last hour or so.

Fear suddenly clenched his heart when he remembered where he was and his head snapped up, eyes meeting with the blue rose and warm crimson colored eyes. Scared, he screamed and jumped back.

"N-No! What do you want from me?! I-I didn't take anything else, I promise!" Tears were welled in his eyes when he closed them and he was trembling madly.

He waited a few seconds and when nothing happened, he opened one eye curiously and later blinked when he met surprised, wide-eyed yet curious red eyes staring at him in concern.

It was a young lady. She was probably 18 or so based on appearance. Her hair was set into an incredibly messy bun, a red rose pinned into the bun messily, as if she had done it just a few minutes ago. She looked a bit dazed at seeing him, but she seemed kind.

She finally spoke and he was so relieved at hearing her kind, quiet voice. "Are you alright?"

Garry kept quiet, staring at the young woman before him in a bit of a daze. When he spoke, his voice came out in a breathy whisper. "A-Are...you someone from the gallery?"

She blinked and then nodded once. "I...found myself in this situation and Im not sure h-oh!" She was cut off when Garry suddenly tackled her into a hug, shaking like a leaf.

"_Thank you._" He whimpered to no one in particular. He didn't care much for the fact that he was hugging a stranger. He wasn't alone in this awful place and honestly that's all that mattered right now.

The woman blinked and gently rubbed his back, comforting him as best as she could.

Garry froze, suddenly aware of what he was doing. A deep blush painted his cheeks and he pulled away quickly. "S-Sorry! Im just so relieved 'c-cuz Im not alone here and I guess I got a little carried away!"

Smiling, she only shook her head and stood up. "It's fine. I know how you feel." She held out the blue rose once more and Garry looked at it uncertainly.

"T-That's brought me a lot of problems..."

The woman sighed. "Yes, well, I believe you'll be needing it. Wounds appear on my body whenever my rose loses it's petals, so I think it's connected to us somehow."

Garry took it reluctantly then gazed up at her curiously. "You have one too?"

She nodded and pointed at the rose in her hair. "I sort of...put it on my hair for safe-keeping."

Garry nodded. She was a very smart lady. Blinking, he realized how rude he was being. Mom always said that when you want to make a new friend, you have to give them your name first. "Sorry, Im being rude." He started. "My name is Garry. What's your name?"

She smiled and he guessed it was from his manners. "My name is Ib."

"Ib...Ib, you say..." It was an odd name, but pretty in it's own way. "I like it" he decided. He smiled at her. She smiled back.

Humming, she looked back and sighed. "Guess we can only go forward now." she paused. "If you want to continue with me. You're very young, and I don't think leaving you behind is much of an option for me."

Garry nodded in agreement and took her hand shyly when she offered it. He didn't want to act scared (not that he was), but this lady would probably need protecting. _She looks pretty delicate. Maybe._ He can't help but think yp himself. Walking forward, Garry grimaced when he saw the blue headless mannequin once more. Ib looked at it, seemingly perplexed. She took one step forward and grabbed it and slowly, but surely, moved the heavy mannequin out of the way. A smile graced her lovely face and she reached out to Garry, holding his hand again and entering the room behind the door.

Garry blinked.

"What is this room?" He mumbled to himself, looking at two paintings. One of a bride and one of a groom. They both looked sad.

But then there were those creepy hands with moving fingers sticking out of the floor, so he didn't want to give it too much thought.

Ib was seemingly looking at the paintings, studying it carefully as then looked at the two hands. She blinked. "This bride has no wedding ring." She stated simply. Grabbing Garry's hand, she slowly dragged him down the corridor, wary of anything that might come and attack them. Seeing no threat, she visibly relaxed, but still kept a somewhat strong stance, ready to protect at any chance.

Garry studied the woman in front of him with blue eyes, gazing at her as though she was some kind of hero.

He noticed soon enough, that she was a really silent person. She thought about things really deeply and then took action. She could probably be one of those who finished those white puzzle things (milk puzzles?), like his dad. His dad was smart.

_She stared at a congested eyeball that was on the floor for quite a bit and Garry was honestly starting to get a little creeped out._

She wasn't just silent, she also looked strong, yet delicate at the same time. Like she had...will power? Garry wasn't too sure if that's the correct term for it, but something like that. She was also very, very pretty. He blushed at that. _Very_ pretty.

_He pushed around stools with her, getting through a mess of stools and easels, until the finally got some eyedrops for the poor congested eye. It looked happy when it was cured._

Looking at the rose in her head, healthy and strong, he decided that that was definitely what she resembled. That rose.

_The painting of the snake looked much better with it's little red eye, he had said. She agreed._

He paused, mulling over a sculpture he saw earlier.

Embodiment of the Spirit? Is that what it was called? Whatever, the rose statue.

He squeaked when she suddenly picked him up, quickly escaping the trap of red headless mannequins, getting a few scratches on her own body, but keeping Garry safe as could be. Garry managed to pull her out of harm's way as well, as soon as he pulled the switch down that hall.

Looking at Ib as she leaned down and got the ring behind the tree, he decided she was just like that rose. Beautiful, but with her own thorns that only add to her beauty.

God, when did he get so deep? He was starting to sound just like his dad... He was only 12. Old people thought these things...

But when Ib gave him the ring to slip into the bride's left hand, on her ring finger, Garry decided that only thoughts like those should ever suit a person like Ib.

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**A/N: What. Where did this OOCness come from. **

**Forgive me. ; - ;**

**Well to be honest Im not really sure if that counts as OOCness. After all, who KNOWS how Garry was when he was younger? Whatever. He's cute. And smart. That's one of my headcanons.**

**Another one would be that he gets like a puppy-love kinda crush on Ib later on XD So yeah. That might happen. **

**It's a little late. But I was...procrasinating xD Yeah, sorry. **

**Please tell me what you guys think of this chapter :'D I might write the next one in Ib's POV but I guess that's up to you. SO yeah. I feel I should stick with Garry (cuz it's his story after all) but...I guess...yeah...**

**_Mini poll:_**

_**Ib's POV or Garry's POV next chapter? **_

**Please review, love you, thank you *hearts* **

**-Sunny**


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